Traffic snarled on southbound I-15 after 3-vehicle crash

Tuesday

Aug 26, 2014 at 11:00 AMAug 26, 2014 at 4:17 PM

VICTORVILLE — A wrong-way driver collided with a tractor-trailer and one other vehicle on Tuesday morning on southbound Interstate 15 between Palmdale and Nisqualli roads.The collision did not cause any major injuries, but it closed two lanes of the freeway just south of Palmdale Road so the tractor-trailer and other vehicles could be removed from the roadway. Traffic was slow from Mojave Drive as it moved through the No. 1 lane at speeds around 5 mph. Lanes were re-opened around 11:45 p.m., but traffic remained slow in the area.California Highway Patrol officials at the scene said an unidentified “elderly woman” in a blue sedan entered the freeway at Nisqualli Road and began driving north in the No. 2 southbound lane I-15 at around 10:45 a.m. Authorities said she collided with the front, passenger side of a tractor-trailer traveling southbound in the No. 2 lane before bouncing off and colliding with an orange sedan traveling southbound in the No. 3 lane. “She was hauling right down the middle going at least 55 or 60 mph,” Helendale resident and eyewitness Megan Williams-Jellsey said. “She’s totally out of it, she says she was just getting her toes done, she doesn’t even remember going the wrong way.”The woman suffered moderate injuries and was transported to a hospital by ambulance. No other injuries were reported.“You only see (wrong-way driving) in movies, so, I mean, you’re seeing it and can’t believe it,” said Williams-Jellsey, who was the first to assist the driver. “It’s like, ‘wow, is this really happening?’ ”Anneli Fogt can be reached at AFogt@VVDailyPress.com or 760-951-6276. Follow her on Twitter @DP_anneli_fogt.